Rochester Hotel Parking Fight Leads to Felony Assault Arrest

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - An Austin man was arrested early Sunday on a number of charges, including second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, after a fight outside a Rochester hotel. Police Captain John Sherwin says a 24-year-old Julio Mendez was with a group of people attending a party in a room at the Extended Stay America Hotel on 43rd Street Northwest and left with others at the party to make some purchases at the nearby Kwik Trip Store.

Olmsted County Adult Detention Center photo

On the way back to the party, Sherwin says Mendez began verbally harassing some of the female passengers in the vehicle. Once the group arrived at the hotel, he allegedly pulled out a large knife and threatened the 23-year-old Rochester man who had been driving the car. Sherwin says Mendez eventually threw down the knife and two men engaged in a fistfight in the parking lot of the hotel around 1:30 a.m.

The hotel staff, hearing the commotion, called 911 and yelled out the door that the police were on the way. Sherwin says Mendez responded by leaving the scene on foot, but he was found a short time later along nearby Highway 52.

Get local and national news on the go. Download our News-Talk 1340 KROC-AM App http://krocam.com/app/ – available on Apple and Android devices.